Like this:

Medicine Ball Exercises 101 – Multi-Movement Exercises

It’s impossible to miss them. You know, medicine balls, those bright colored balls with numbers on them. Though you have seen them in the gym for as long as you can remember, you’re not quite sure what to do with them, or how to use them, rather.

The New Year is almost here, and though 2013 is almost over, it has been an incredible year for LIVING HEALTHY and TOP TIPS! We published over 50 TOP TIPS articles this year to help you reach your personal health and fitness goals, and the response, which resulted in record-breaking readership, was amazing.

But before we dash off into a new year of fitness, exercises and healthy trends, we are taking a walk down memory lane and sharing with you the TOP 10 TOP TIPS of 2013…just in case you missed one.

Like this:

If you’re like most people, you have likely run into your fair share of obstacles due to work and other responsibilities that have prevented you from exercising as much as you would like to…Hey, it happens!

Even on days that you have your workouts scheduled in your calendar it seems that unexpected obstacles and extra responsibilities just seem to pop up, right?

So how do you make sure that you don’t get derailed by these obstacles?

This is your chance to win one of the great prizes that we are giving away.

Enter now! Simply SUBSCRIBE to receive LIVING HEALTHY for YOUR chance to win hockey memorabilia signed by Hall of Famer, Dino Ciccarelli. If you have already subscribed to LIVING HEALTHY, you are automatically entered to win. Read the rest of this entry →

There’s only 10 weeks left until swimsuit season! If you haven’t committed to a solid workout plan to get your body ready for summer, don’t worry. We have a plan that can help you to get back into the gym and back into shape for summertime with this 5 Part Series.

That’s right, this weekend marks that time of year again when we all sacrifice an hour of sleep in the wee hours of Sunday morning in order to gain a precious extra hour of daylight to enjoy in the evenings for the next eight months. So mark your calendars and set your alarms because on Sunday, March 10th, 2013 at 2 a.m. we all need to “spring forward” our clocks one hour as we tear apart the space-time continuum warping time as it instantaneously changes from 2 a.m. to 3 a.m.Read the rest of this entry →

It is perhaps the best opportunity of the year for you to feel great after a workout both inside and out! On Saturday, February 23rd at 3pm LA Fitness is holding a special Zumba class that you can attend in order to support Augie’s Quest and help find a cure for ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). CLICK here to learn more about this event and make a donation. *LA Fitness clubs not participating in this promotion: Grove City, OH (Former Urban Active), Grandview, OH (Former Urban Active), and Presale locations.

You probably want to know more, right? Well, who better to tell you than Augie Nieto himself? So, we contacted Augie for a Q&A about Augie’s Quest, ALS and the LA Fitness Zumba event.

Why is it important for everyone to participate in this event?

Augie: The fitness industry has been instrumental to MDA’s Augie’s Quest…we’ve raised over $35 million to date because of clubs and members around the country. YOU have the opportunity to be a part of history and help families fighting ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). Plus, I can’t think of a more entertaining way to get a workout!

How will the donations received from the LA Fitness Zumba event help Augie’s Quest, ALS and MDA?

Augie: Donations received will go directly to fast-track research for ALS. Our goal is to find an effective treatment for this disease as soon as possible.

How far has research and treatment come since you were first diagnosed?

Augie: When I was first diagnosed, there were ZERO dollars being invested in ALS research from ‘Big Pharma.’ We’ve been able to change the landscape of ALS research drastically. The lab we fund is called ALS TDI (www.als.net). It’s the largest ALS research lab in the world and we are focused on finding drugs to treat ALS. We currently have two drugs moving into Phase 2 clinical trials and 11 more in the pipeline. I know that one day soon, thanks to the support from the fitness industry, we’ll have effective treatments for ALS.

Your challenges, and the challenges faced with treating ALS are daunting, and yet you continue to persevere with Augie’s Quest, how do you do it?

Augie: What keeps me going is the momentum we have right now…we are truly making great strides in ALS drug development. Right now there is only one FDA approved drug on the market for ALS patients and it doesn’t do much. I’m confident the research we are funding will result in new effective drugs for the ALS community.

What would you like to tell those who are attending the Zumba event?

Augie: THANK YOU! Most people who attend probably haven’t had their lives touched by ALS…it’s amazing to me that so many people come out to support our cause. Oh…and get there early to get a front row spot!

Fun Question: What would you like to tell those who are hiding behind their poor dance skills as an excuse to skip the Zumba event?

Augie: If I can do it, you can do it! Zumba isn’t about perfect choreography…it’s about having fun. I promise you won’t regret it…no one has ever left a Zumba class and said “that wasn’t fun!”

Be on the lookout for our new segment featuring BEFORE & AFTER photos, results and interviews with LA Fitness members.

Are you proud of your accomplishments? Are you taking on a challenging weight loss or fitness goal? If you would like your story or accomplishments featured on LIVING HEALTHY the official LA Fitness blog, then email socialmedia@fitnessintl.com for consideration.